Even if you have a strong family history of heart disease, you may be able to change your personal risk with diet, a recent study suggests. An international team of researchers led by scientists at Canada’s McMaster and McGill universities have found that the expression of the gene that is the strongest marker for heart disease can be modified by a diet that provides lots of fruit and raw vegetables.

These findings come from an analysis of data on more than 27,000 adults of varied ethnicities including European, South Asian, Chinese, Latin American and Arab and the effect of their diets on a gene called 9p21. The investigators found that those with this gene who ate a diet composed mostly of raw vegetables, fruits and berries had a risk of heart attack that was similar to those whose genotype suggested a low risk of heart attack.